Retractable Monitor with Adjustable Pitch and Yaw

ABSTRACT

An in-dash infotainment system includes a chassis, a monitor, and three articulating arms each pivotably coupled to a side of the monitor and slidably coupled to the chassis. The articulating arms allow the monitor to stow horizontally within the chassis, and extend and flip vertically for viewing. When extended, the first, the second, and the third articulating arms also allow the pitch and the yaw of the monitor to be adjusted.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This present disclosure relates to a retractable monitor with adjustable pitch and yaw.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

Some in-dash receivers for motor vehicles include a monitor that retracts into the receiver when the monitor is not used. Some roof mount entertainment systems for motor vehicles include a monitor that flips up when the monitor is not used.

SUMMARY

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, an in-dash infotainment system includes a chassis, a monitor, and three articulating arms each pivotably coupled to a side of the monitor and slidably coupled to the chassis. The articulating arms allow the monitor to stow horizontally within the chassis, and extend and flip vertically for viewing. When extended, the first, the second, and the third articulating arms also allow the pitch and the yaw of the monitor to be adjusted.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrates perspective views of an in-dash infotainment system; and

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of a monitor of the in-dash infotainnment system, all arranged in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

Use of the same reference numbers in different figures indicates similar or identical elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 illustrate an in-dash infotainment system 100 in some embodiments of the present disclosure. System 100 may include, but is not limited to, a radio, a global positioning system (GPS), a digital video disc (DVD) player, a general purpose computer for running a web browser and other applications, a wireless broadband adapter for accessing a network such as the Internet, or any combination of these features.

Referring to FIG. 1 unless otherwise specified, system 100 includes a chassis 102 and a retractable monitor 104. Chassis 102 includes an open end defined by a top, a left sidewall 106, and a right sidewall 108, and a bottom 110. For clarity, the top of chassis 102 and internal electronics and mechanical components are not shown.

Monitor 104 has a first vertical side (left side) 112, a second vertical side (right side) 114, and a horizontal side (top) 116 respectively linked by three articulating arms 118, 120, and 122 to chassis 102. Articulating arms 118, 120, and 122 allow monitor 104 to be stowed horizontally within chassis 102, and to be extended and flipped down for viewing. Once extended and flipped down, articulating arms 118, 120, and 122 allow the pitch and the yaw of monitor 104 to be manually or automatically adjusted.

First articulating arm 118 includes a first member 118A, a second member 118B, and a third member 118C (FIG. 2). First member 118 is a slide that is slidably engaged to a track 124 on left sidewall 106 of chassis 102. Second member 118B is pivotably coupled to first member 118A about a first vertical axis 126. Third member 118C (FIG. 2) is a bracket that is pivotably coupled to second member 118B about a second vertical axis 128 (FIG. 2) and to left side 112 of monitor 104 about a first horizontal axis 130 (FIG. 2).

Second articulating arm 120 includes a first member 120A (FIG. 2), a second member 120B, and a third member 120C. First member 120A is a slide that is slidably engaged to a track 132 (FIG. 2) on right sidewall 108 of chassis 102. Second member 120B is pivotably coupled to first member 120A about a third vertical axis 134 (FIG. 2). Third member 120C is a bracket that is pivotably coupled to second member 120B about a fourth vertical axis 136 and to right side 114 of monitor 104 about first horizontal axis 130.

Third articulating arm 122 includes a first member 122A, a second member 122B, and a third member 122C (FIG. 3). First member 122A is a slide that is slidably engaged to a track (not shown) on the top of chassis 102. Second member 122B is pivotably coupled to first member 122A about a second horizontal axis 138. Third member 122C (FIG. 3) is a bracket that is pivotably coupled to second member 122B about a third horizontal axis 140 and to top 116 of monitor 104 about a fifth vertical axis 142 (FIG. 3).

A user may manually extend the horizontally stowed monitor 104 and flip down the monitor for viewing. Alternatively, articulating arms 118, 120, and 122 may be motorized to automatically extend the horizontally stowed monitor 104 from within chassis 102 and to flip down the monitor for viewing. To extend the horizontally stowed monitor 104, motors translate articulating arms 118, 120, and 122 at the same rate. Once monitor 104 clears chassis 102, articulating arm 122 can translate faster than articulating arms 118 and 120 to flip down monitor 104. The process is reversed to stow away monitor 102 within chassis 104. A motor 144 is mechanically linked by gears, belts, or other conventional means to drive articulating arm 118, a motor 145 is mechanically linked by gears, belts, or other conventional means to drive articulating arm 122, and a motor 146 (FIG. 2) is mechanically linked by gears, belts, or other conventional means to drive articulating arm 120.

Once monitor 102 is flipped down in a vertical orientation, the user may further adjust the pitch and the yaw of the monitor. The pitch of monitor 102 may be adjusted about the first horizontal axis 130, and the yaw of the monitor may be adjusted about the fifth vertical axis 142 (FIG. 3). To adjust the pitch, the user rotates monitor 102 about the first horizontal axis 130. In the process, first member 122A of articulating arm 122 may translate and second member 122B may pivot to accommodate the change in pitch. To adjust the yaw, the user rotates monitor 102 about the fifth vertical axis 142 (FIG. 3). In the process of yawing, first member 118A of articulating arm 118 may translate, second member 118B may pivot, first member 120A of articulating arm 120 may translate, and second member 120B may pivot to accommodate the change in yaw.

Various other adaptations and combinations of features of the embodiments disclosed are within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, instead of locating articulating arm 122 on the top of chassis 102 and on top of monitor 104, the articulating arm 122 may be located on the bottom of chassis 102 and on the bottom of monitor 104. Numerous embodiments are encompassed by the following claims. 

1. An in-dash infotainment system, comprising: a chassis; a monitor comprising a first vertical side, a second vertical side, and a horizontal side; a first articulating arm pivotably coupled to the first vertical side of the monitor and slidably coupled to the chassis; a second articulating arm pivotably coupled to the second vertical side of the monitor and slidably coupled to the chassis; and a third articulating arm pivotably coupled to the horizontal side of the monitor and slidably coupled to the chassis.
 2. The in-dash infotainment system, wherein: the first articulating arm comprises first, second, third members, the first member being slidably coupled to the chassis, the second member being pivotably coupled to the first member about a first vertical axis, the third member being pivotably coupled to (1) the second member about a second vertical axis and (2) the first vertical side of the monitor about a first horizontal axis; the second articulating arm comprises fourth, fifth, and sixth members, the fourth member being slidably coupled to the chassis, the fifth member being pivotably coupled to the fourth member about a third vertical axis, the sixth member being pivotably coupled to (1) the fifth member about a fourth vertical axis and (2) the second vertical side of the monitor about the first horizontal axis; the third articulating arm comprises seventh, eighth, and ninth members, the seventh member being slidably coupled to the chassis, the eighth member being pivotably coupled to the seventh member about a second horizontal axis, the ninth member being pivotably coupled to (1) the eighth member about a third horizontal axis and (2) the horizontal side of the monitor about a fifth vertical axis.
 3. The in-dash infotainment system of claim 2, wherein the chassis comprises first, second, and third tracks for slidably engaging the first, the fourth, and the seventh members.
 4. The in-dash infotainment system of claim 3, wherein the chassis further comprises motors mechanically linked to the first, the fourth, and the seventh members, respectively to extend and retract the monitor.
 5. The in-dash infotainment system of claim 4, wherein the first, the second, and the third articulating arms allow a pitch of the monitor to be adjusted about the first horizontal axis, and a yaw of the monitor to be adjusted about the fifth vertical axis. 